Federal funds offer limited help for OPD crime lab

The Department of Justice along with the National Institute of Justice is awarding $408,295 to the Oakland Police Department as part of its Forensic Casework DNA Backlog Reduction Grant Program. The money has to have final approval from the City Council before it can be tapped.

Although the money will provide additional support in a number of areas, it will be a drop in the bucket compared to what’s actually needed for Oakland police.

According to a report to Council, the new federal funds will allow OPD to decrease the turnaround time to under 100 days for analyzing biological evidence cases by helping support “the continued employment of the departments criminalist and forensic DNA technician.”

When it comes to its crime lab, many say, the Oakland police department can use all the help it can get.

An Alameda Grand Jury report issued in June found that the Oakland police crime lab is in disarray – with a backlog of criminal cases numbering in the thousands, inadequate facilities for the department and a severe staffing shortage. In a recent response to the grand jury report, police said the department’s case backlog is now at 2,438 – including 555 homicide requests. The largest backlogs are in the firearms and latent prints units.